Columnist says that while insisting the CBC is a crucial instrument for national unity and the promotion of artistic talent in Canada, Heritage Minister James Moore has pointedly allowed the broadcaster to be brow-beaten by his Conservative colleagues.

Professor says Canadians need a media commons — a public, independent place where there can be a true meeting of the minds and where there is a chance of achieving social cohesion and of collectively doing the right thing as a country.

FRIENDS has launched spoof commercials that portray an American TV wrestling promoter buying the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and stuffing its newscasts with brawny wrestlers as anchors and ring girls as weather presenters.

Columnist asks as the CBC prepares for cuts, is the CBC – and public opinion – being softened not merely for budget cuts but for a complete rethink of the broadcaster's role that would eliminate much of its current activity?

Peter Mansbridge has been replaced by a tattooed, eye-patch wearing grappler, while flamboyantly dressed Radio 2 personalities now settle on-air disagreements with their fists in a new vision of the CBC presented by FRIENDS.

Former CBC President says from 1985 to 2010, the CBC's parliamentary appropriation went from $905 million to $1.018 million, a nominal increase of 12.5 per cent, but a real decrease of 62 per cent after inflation.

Columnist says Heritage Minister James Moore was non-commital when asked whether the CBC would continue to receive a supplementary $60 million earmarked purely for programming that has been renewed annually for 10 years.

A new major public opinion research study shows continued strong support for the CBC and that more Canadians trust the Conservative party than any other to handle matters of national culture and identity.

FRIENDS has launched a pair of satirical YouTube videos that depict life at the CBC under the new ownership of a garrulous former American wrestler who is more concerned with “action” than national content.

New survey finds the Conservative Party is gaining the trust of voters when it comes to Canadian culture and the CBC, but that trust could quickly evaporate if forecast cuts to the national public broadcaster’s parliamentary allocation come to pass.

Unimpressed with the CBC's explanations regarding its financial accountability and handling of access to information requests, Conservatives indicate they may look at amending a law that exempts the broadcaster from certain disclosures.

Hubert Lacroix says the CBC's record on accountability and access to information has been lost in general confusion or distorted in coverage of its court case against Canada’s information commissioner.

In a letter responding to legal questions from the NDP, parliamentary law clerk and counsel Rob Walsh wrote that MPs on the access-to-information committee are stepping into uncertain constitutional waters, and “could be seen as interfering with and possibly undermining the judicial process.”

Columnist says a Harris-Decima survey conducted for The Canadian Press suggests 46 per cent of Canadians would like the CBC's funding to stay at the current level and 23 per cent would like it to be increased.

Columnist says the CBC gives a place to Kevin O'Leary, Don Cherry and Rex Murphy, all of whom get to freely express their generally right-of-centre views with alacrity, yet a good many Conservatives think of the Corporation as a left-wing conspiracy.

MP Dean Del Mastro says the CBC has no choice but to hand over the documents to an in camera meeting of the Commons Access to Information and Ethics Committee, even though the Federal Court of Appeal is at the moment deciding whether the broadcaster must release them to the Information Commissioner.

The NDP and the Liberals boycotted a Commons committee that has been scrutinizing the CBC's approach towards access to information, opposing a Conservative bid to have the public broadcaster turn over internal documents.

FRIENDS tells a Parliamentary committee looking into CBC's access to information policies that the root cause of the public broadcaster's disclosure avoidance is patronage appointments of its Board and President.

FRIENDS tells a Parliamentary committee looking into CBC's access to information policies that the root cause of the public broadcaster's disclosure avoidance is patronage appointments of its Board and President.

Columnist says a bid by the Conservatives to peek at the CBC's internal files is sparking a debate over parliamentary privilege, Charter-protected freedom of the press and the independence of the courts.

Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault told a House of Commons committee she believes the public broadcaster might be using new internal guidelines to quickly dismiss some access requests, thereby making it easier to claim faster response times.

The CBC has found itself under fire, forced to defend its economic value and societal relevance while the country’s access-to-information watchdog suggests the broadcaster may be automatically denying information requests.

Quebecor president Pierre Karl Peladeau says the CBC has effectively muzzled criticism by other news organizations by entering into business deals with them and paying their reporters to appear on the network.

Pierre-Karl Péladeau, CEO of Quebecor, is threatening to sue the CBC over its statement earlier this week that his company has received more than half a billion dollars in public subsidies and benefits over the last three years.

CBC President says that despite an expected funding cut of between five and 10 per cent to the public broadcaster in next spring’s federal budget, the recent expansion of radio service in Kelowna will not be directly affected.

Columnist says the CBC is fighting back against Quebecor’s attacks on its $1-billion in annual federal funding, accusing the private broadcaster of receiving $500-million in public subsidies over the last three years without being accountable to taxpayers.

Quebecor's Pierre Karl Péladeau said his company's Sun Media subsidiary is the only media company in Canada willing to investigate the CBC, as he appeared before MPs holding hearings into the CBC's dispute with the federal Information Commissioner over access to information requests.

The CBC's top boss says one of its major competitors is determined to damage the reputation of the public broadcaster in order to weaken it and he's determined to set the record straight on Parliament Hill.

President and CEO of the National Citizens Coalition says if the federal government is serious about the promises they made during the most recent election it is time they put the CBC on the chopping block.

Columnist says that when a minister of the Crown compels a member of Parliament to state for the record that he opposes assault, rape, and murder, it's safe to say that the government has not embraced a new spirit of reasonableness and co-operation.

Columnist says the Prime Minister's parliamentary secretary has stepped heavily into the Ontario election, commissioning a 1,000-person poll because he felt a local newspaper underplayed the popularity of the local Progressive Conservative candidate.

Columnist says Conservatives are asking the CBC to explain why it is fighting the access-to-information law in the courts, part of increased scrutiny of the public broadcaster's spending and practices by the new majority government.

CBC announces new radio and internet services will be introduced for the London and Kitchener-Waterloo areas of Ontario and new weekend news programming will be introduced in Edmonton, Ottawa, the Maritimes and St. John’s through the spring and fall of 2012.

Despite an election promise to maintain or increase funding to the CBC, cutting or even eliminating the budget of the national public broadcaster seems to be rising up the agenda of the Harper government.

Columnist says a string of Conservative surveys is putting CBC funding under the microscope as the Harper government debates how big a hit Canada’s public broadcaster will take as part of government-wide restraint plans.

Conceding it has a bit of the flavour of A&E in its early days, Bluepoint Broadcasting says SCN's business plan was loosely modelled on Alberta's Access TV network post-privatization, and might be replicated in other markets.

Columnist says a successful bid by the new bilateral partnership will combine the strength of CBC/Radio and Bell Media's Olympic broadcasting history to deliver to all Canadians, in English and French, the most comprehensive, diverse, and media-rich Games ever seen in Canada.

Columnist says he IOC potentially faces a situation where only one bid is submitted from Canada’s broadcast industry to broadcast the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.

An Abacus Data poll commissioned by QMI Agency and published in the Toronto Sun, suggests taxpayers underestimate how much the CBC gets from the federal government while at the same time most think it's getting too much.

With more than 600 towers that rebroadcast CBC signals to less populated areas, the national broadcaster said it simply can't afford to meet the CRTC's demands to beam high-quality and often high-definition digital TV signals to a majority of Canada's populace for free over the air.

In his appearance on Q on July 12, Heritage Minister James Moore defamed Friends of Canadian Broadcasting when he said that we have lied to the public about what his government has contributed to fund the CBC.

Speculation that the government is preparing to slash the CBC’s budget is on the rise after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission announced it is postponing the CBC’s licence renewal hearing for almost a year.

Equating government funding to the CBC to goverment funding for Canada Post, Columnist says Canadians are free to listen to whatever they like, but not to expect taxpayers to subsidize personal preference.

Columnist says Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau has played the Netflix card by urging the CRTC to end red tape for Canadian carriers to help them fend off competition from over-the-top U.S. digital platforms.

The CBC’s relevance with Canadians, and whether it should distinguish itself from its private sector rivals, are the focus of the CRTC’s online probe before hearings on renewing the network’s radio and TV licenses start on September 12th.

A recent report, commissioned by the CBC and prepared by Deloitte & Touche, claims the public broadcaster contributed $3.7 billion in "gross value added" to the Canadian economy in 2010 based on expenses of $1.7 billion.

A Quebec City man is trying to draw attention to his fight to be able to keep watching Hockey Night in Canada for free after the CRTC's August 31 deadline for over-the-air television broadcasters to switch their analog signals to digital.

Columnist says the CBC's consistent ratings for homegrown shows like Rick Mercer
Report and Dragons’ Den has allowed the it to vault over Global
Television and Citytv in the Canadian broadcast league table.

CBC Executive Vice-President sets out what the public broadcaster has in store for the next five years, including plans to introduce new online and digital media services and an increase in regional programming.

Columnist says Finance minister Jim Flaherty made good on an earlier commitment to give the Canada Media Fund $100 million per year in on-going funding, and for the ninth year running gave the CBC “one-time” funding of $60 million.

The former vice-president of the National Citizens Coalition says Stephen Harper’s recent majority victory may motivate people to support organizations that are seen to defend their progressive values.

CBC announced the first details of an initiative with an increased local focus, part of its recent commitment under the 2015 strategic plan "Everyone, Every Way," to introduce or improve services to more than six million Canadians.

Columnist says an invite-only group of Tory supporters tried to shout CBC Reporter Terry Milewski down after asking Stephern Harper if he would honour any decision by the Governor General to invite the NDP Leader to form a government if the Tories fail to win a majority.

Conservative supporters booed CBC journalist Terry Milewski at a GTA campaign stop after he challenged Stephen Harper on whether he would accept a decision by the Governor General to hand power to the opposition parties in the wake of the May 2 election.

Television producer and media analyst Paul Pazalgette says, "In the Internet age, in a Tower of Babel of rumor and paranoia and the place where people think that Elvis is alive, Paul McCartney is dead and the Jews blew up the Twin Towers, there is more of an argument than ever for an independent, state-funded, trusted and reliable source of news and information."

More than 70 arts services organizations from British Columbia to Newfoundland have joined ranks to issue an unprecedented election manifesto calling on politicians of all stripes to safeguard federal cultural institutions such as the CBC and Canada Council for the Arts.

The Liberal Party says they will provide the CBC and Radio-Canada with stable and predictable funding in support of their unique and crucial roles as well as double funding to the Canada Council for the Arts.

Kitchener Waterloo Conservative incumbent accuses the former Liberal government of cutting CBC funding while the Liberal candidate says they had no choice as the previous Conservative government had built up a deficit.

Columnist says the consortium of broadcasters behind the televised leaders' debates has agreed to bump the French language event up a day to in order to avoid having to compete with Thursday's Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins game for viewers.

The head of CBC/Radio Canada says the public broadcaster is moving ahead with its plan to increase local and regional news, enhance its digital platforms and generally make the CBC more Canadian as part of a five-year strategy.

CBC Ombudsman says the obligation to provide equitable coverage does not mean the need to provide equal coverage, and there is reason to believe that media will find many other ways to integrate the Green Party into political journalism.

In a presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, FRIENDS says that implementing the Committee's recommendation of increasing the CBC's parliamentary grant to at least $40 per capita would be a good first step in addressing the funding gap for Canada's public broadcaster.

Columnist says within three years, Internet-connected television sets will reach a critical mass in households that make up (demographically speaking) the vast majority of the Public Broadcasting audience.

Quebec Court of Appeal has ordered the removal of a Superior Court judge deemed biased against Péladeau in an ongoing defamation suit launched by the media magnate after he was likened to a hoodlum by the head of Radio-Canada.

Minister of Canadian Heritage applauds CBC/Radio-Canada for its new five-year strategic plan, but remains unclear on whether the public broadcaster can expect to see any increases in funding from the federal government.

House Republicans have rolled out what they called historic cuts
in federal spending after conservatives in the party’s new majority
demanded leadership follow through on a pledge to carve $100
billion from the current year’s budget.

Industry Minister Tony Clement has hinted the government will formally respond to a surprise Federal Court ruling that quashed a cabinet order allowing Egyptian-backed Globalive Wireless Management Corp. to operate in the country’s wireless sector.

New Democratic Party MPs ask the Minister of Canadian Heritage about recent appointments to the board of the CBC and the position of vice-chair at the CRTC, claiming the only qualification of those appointed is being friends of the government.

With conventional delivery models for content being squeezed by new technologies, CBC is left to compete against well-capitalized communications giants that can amortize rights purchases and talent raids against their cellphone or cable TV businesses.

The Liberal Heritage critic asks the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage if the Conservative government will provide the CBC with adequate funding to implement it's newly released five year strategic plan.

In its five year strategic plan, CBC/Radio-Canada says that whether it’s connecting them to this country, to their communities, or to each other as individuals, CBC/Radio-Canada will be there — for everyone, every way.

Columnist says former CBC executive vice-president Richard Stursberg made his first official industry appearance since he was let go by the public broadcaster, appearing for Telus as an expert consultant during the big carrier’s appearance in front of the CRTC.

While the focus on the significance of regional
broadcasting is important and welcome, we are troubled that the CBC proposes to
do more with less, a formula that often results in half measures that fail.

In response to MP Dean Del Mastro's comment questioning if the government should stay in the broadcasting business, a crowd filled the square in front of the Peterborough Library to chant, sing, and wave signs in support of the CBC.